Communication device, communication system, communication method, and non-transitory computer-readable medium

ABSTRACT

There is provided a communication device capable of determining whether admission of new data traffic is allowed or rejected not by comparing throughputs only, but by considering other parameters when the data traffic is admitted. A communication device ( 10 ) according to the present invention includes a determination unit ( 11 ) that determines whether to admit a flow regarding a new radio terminal ( 30 ), the flow being to be transmitted between a radio terminal ( 30 ) and a base station ( 20 ) and having a transmission deadline, depending on a transmission state of a plurality of data packets included in the flow, and a communication unit ( 12 ) that transmits, to the base station ( 20 ), instruction information indicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new radio terminal ( 30 ).

The present application is a Continuation application of Ser. No.16/345,956 filed on Apr. 29, 2019, which is a National Stage Entry ofPCT/JP2016/004776 filed on Oct. 31, 2016, the contents of all of whichare incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a communication device, a communicationsystem, a communication method, and a program, and particularly relatesto a communication device, a communication system, a communicationmethod, and a program that perform admission control of a flow.

BACKGROUND ART

Currently, it has been considering providing low latency services viamobile networks. Low latency services may be, for example, automaticdriving services for transmitting on-vehicle sensor information,traffic-camera information, and map information via mobile networks.

Mobile carriers (mobile network operators) are required to secureService Level Agreement (SLA) in order to provide users with low latencyservices. In the SLA, for example, a delay time secured in the lowlatency services and the like may be defined.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses processing regardingadmission control performed to maintain the quality of a network. Forexample, Patent Literature 1 discloses an admission controller AC thatcalculates a currently used throughput. The admission controller furthercalculates the difference between the maximum available throughput andthe currently used throughput to determine the currently availablethroughput. The admission controller rejects admission of real-time datatraffic when the desired throughput in the real-time data trafficexceeds the currently available throughput. The admission controllersets a transmission deadline in the real-time data traffic the admissionof which is allowed.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2007-312413

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the admission control disclosed in Patent Literature 1, admission ofdata traffic is determined to be allowed or rejected by comparingthroughputs when the data traffic is admitted. However, a different SLAcan be set in each real-time data traffic, and the desired quality isdifferent. Thus, if admission is determined to be allowed or rejected bycomparing throughputs only, it is difficult to precisely determinewhether the SLA regarding each real-time data traffic is satisfied.

A purpose of the present invention is to provide a communication device,a communication system, a communication method, and a program capable ofdetermining whether admission of new data traffic is allowed or rejectednot by comparing throughputs only, but by considering other parameterswhen the data traffic is admitted.

Solution to Problem

A communication device according to a first aspect of the presentinvention includes a determination unit that determines whether to admita flow regarding a new radio terminal, the flow being to be transmittedbetween a radio terminal and a base station and having a transmissiondeadline, depending on a transmission state of a plurality of datapackets included in the flow, and a communication unit that transmits,to the base station, instruction information indicating whether to admitthe flow regarding the new radio terminal.

A communication system according to a second aspect of the presentinvention includes a communication device that determines whether toadmit a flow regarding a new radio terminal, the flow being to betransmitted between a radio terminal and a base station and having atransmission deadline, depending on a transmission state of a pluralityof data packets included in the flow and transmits instructioninformation indicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new radioterminal, and a base station that receives the instruction informationand performs processing for admitting or rejecting the flow regardingthe new radio terminal in accordance with the instruction information.

A communication method according to a third aspect of the presentinvention includes determining whether to admit a flow regarding a newradio terminal, the flow being to be transmitted between a radioterminal and a base station and having a transmission deadline,depending on a transmission state of a plurality of data packetsincluded in the flow, and transmitting, to the base station, instructioninformation indicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new radioterminal.

A program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention causes acomputer to execute determining whether to admit a flow regarding a newradio terminal, the flow being to be transmitted between a radioterminal and a base station and having a transmission deadline,depending on a transmission state of a plurality of data packetsincluded in the flow, and transmitting, to the base station, instructioninformation indicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new radioterminal.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide acommunication device, a communication system, a communication method,and a program capable of determining whether admission of new datatraffic is allowed or rejected not by comparing throughputs only, but byconsidering other parameters when the data traffic is admitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according toa first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according toa second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an MEC server according to thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an eNB according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a UE according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing processing of the MEC server for acquiring acommunication quality of a radio resource from the eNB according to thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing parameters set in a WcqNotificationSetupmessage according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing parameters set in a WcqNotification messageaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing WcqValues set in the WcqNotification messageaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing processing of the MEC server for acquiringa scheduler type from the eNB according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing parameters set in a SchedulingPolicyRequestmessage according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing parameters set in aSchedulingPolicyResponse message according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing processing of the MEC server for acquiringa buffer size from the eNB according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing parameters set in a RemainBufferSizeSetupmessage according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing parameters set in aRemainBufferSizeNotification message according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing RemainBufferSizes set in theRemainBufferSizeNotification message according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing for determining whether anadditional flow is allowed according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram of the eNB according to eachembodiment.

FIG. 19 is a configuration diagram of the UE according to eachembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of the MEC server according to eachembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the drawings. With reference to FIG. 1, a configurationexample of a communication system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention is described. The communication system in FIG. 1includes a communication device 10, a base station 20, and a pluralityof radio terminals 30. The communication device 10, the base station 20,and the radio terminals 30 may each be a computer device operated by aprocessor executing programs stored in a memory.

The radio terminals 30 may be mobile phone terminals, smartphoneterminals, tablet terminals, and the like. Alternatively, the radioterminals 30 may be Internet of Things (IoT) terminals, Machine toMachine (M2M) terminals, Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal, andthe like which are used for IoT services. The radio terminals 30 performradio communication with the base station 20.

The base station 20 may be an evolved Node B (eNB) or a Node B definedin the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). An eNB is a basestation using Long Term Evolution (LTE) as a radio communication system.A Node B is a base station using a radio communication system referredto as 3G in the 3GPP as a radio communication system. In addition, aradio communication system used by the base station 20 is notnecessarily defined in the 3GPP, and may be radio communication systemsdefined by other standardizing organizations may be used. The basestation 20 may be referred to as a radio access network node or thelike.

The communication device 10 controls the base station 20. Thecommunication device 10 may control, for example, scheduling performedin the base station 20. The scheduling performed in the base station 20may be referred to as Medium Access Control (MAC) scheduling, packetscheduling, or the like.

The communication device 10 may be, for example, a Service CapabilityExposure Function (SCEF) entity defined in the 3GPP (hereinafter,referred to as SCEF). The SCEF performs, for example, authenticationprocessing or the like regarding an application server managed by amobile network operator, an application service provider, or the like.The SCEF further communicates with the base station 20, which is an eNB,via a reference point defined in the 3GPP. The SCEF transmits, forexample, control data in a core network. The control data is used to,for example, set a communication path for transmitting user dataregarding a radio terminal 30. The SCEF may be referred to as, forexample, a C-Plane Function (CPF) entity that is a node device fortransmitting control data.

Alternatively, the communication device 10 may be a Mobile EdgeComputing (MEC) server. The MEC server may be arranged at a positionwhere the MEC server can directly communicate with the base station 20.The position where the MEC server can directly communicate means aposition where the MEC server can communicate without a core networkmanaged by a mobile network operator. For example, the MEC server may bephysically integrated with the base station 20. Alternatively, the MECserver may be arranged in the same building as the base station 20 andconnected to a Local Area Network (LAN) in the building so as tocommunicate with the base station 20. By arranging the MEC server in theperiphery of the base station 20, it is possible to shorten thetransmission delay between the MEC server and the radio terminal 30. TheMEC server is used to, for example, provide a low-latency applicationservice.

In addition, the communication device 10 may be arranged in an IoTplatform including servers providing the radio terminals 30 with an IoTservice. Alternatively, the communication device 10 may be a serverdevice capable of communicating with the base station 20 directly or viaa network. The communication device 10 may have both Control Plane andUser Plane functions in either case of a device described above oranother device.

Next, a configuration example of the communication device 10 isdescribed. The communication device 10 includes a determination unit 11and a communication unit 12. The determination unit 11 and thecommunication unit 12 may each be software or a module the processing ofwhich is performed by a processor executing programs stored in a memory.Alternatively, the determination unit 11 and the communication unit 12may each be hardware such as a chip or a circuit.

The determination unit 11 determines whether to admit a flow regarding anew radio terminal 30 depending on the transmission state of a pluralityof data packets included in the flow. The flow is to be transmittedbetween a radio terminal 30 and the base station 20 and has a deadline.

The flow to be transmitted between the radio terminal 30 and the basestation 20 includes, for example, one or more data packets to betransmitted in an application service provided to the radio terminal 30.The one or more data packets may be referred to as data.

The flow to be transmitted between the radio terminal 30 and the basestation 20 may be a flow to be transmitted from the radio terminal 30 tothe base station 20 or a flow to be transmitted from the base station 20to the radio terminal 30. Alternatively, the flow to be transmittedbetween the radio terminal 30 and the base station 20 may include a flowto be transmitted from the radio terminal 30 to the base station 20 anda flow to be transmitted from the base station 20 to the radio terminal30. The data included in the flow to be transmitted from the radioterminal 30 to the base station 20 is referred to as Uplink (UL) data.The data included in the flow to be transmitted from the base station 20to the radio terminal 30 is referred to as Downlink (DL) data. Data tobe transmitted in the application service may be, for example, imagedata, moving image data, or the like. Application data may contain arequest message for requesting transmission of image data or the like, aresponse message for responding to the request message, and the like.

The transmission deadline means a time limit by which transmission of aplurality of data packets included in one flow is to be completed. Thetransmission deadline is requested by an application. The transmissiondeadline can be referred to as a transmission time limit. Alternatively,the transmission deadline can be referred to as maximum transmissiondelay allowed by the application. The transmission deadline can bevariously defined. For example, the transmission deadline may be a timelimit by which a sender of an application layer completes transmission.Alternatively, the transmission deadline may be a time limit by which asender of a radio layer completes transmission. Alternatively, thetransmission deadline may be a time limit by which a receiver of anapplication layer completes reception. Alternatively, the transmissiondeadline may be a time limit by which a receiver of a radio layercompletes reception. Alternatively, to be more specific, thetransmission deadline may be a time limit until which a sender of anapplication layer starts transmitting the first data packet included ina flow and a receiver of the application layer completes receiving thelast data packet included in the flow. Alternatively, the transmissiondeadline may be a time limit until which a sender of a radio layerstarts transmitting the first data packet included in a flow and areceiver of the radio layer completes receiving the last data packetincluded in the flow. Information about the transmission deadline may bereceived by the MEC server from the application server. The MEC servermay determine a service applied to the data received at the user planeof the MEC server and determine the transmission deadline based on theservice. Alternatively, the MEC server may receive, from the applicationserver, information about a service applied to the data and determinethe transmission deadline based on the service.

The transmission state may be, for example, the amount of untransmitteddata packets in a plurality of data packets included in a flow, thebuffer size, or information indicating whether all the data packetsincluded in a flow can be transmitted by the transmission deadline, orthe like.

The communication unit 12 transmits, to the base station 20, instructioninformation indicating whether to admit a flow regarding a new radioterminal. The base station 20 performs processing for admitting the flowregarding the new radio terminal in accordance with the determinationresult determined by the determination unit 11 of the communicationdevice 10. In other words, the base station 20 performs schedulingregarding the new radio terminal 30 in accordance with the determinationresult transmitted from the communication device 10.

As described above, the communication device 10 in FIG. 1 is capable ofdetermining whether to admit a flow regarding a new radio terminaldepending on the transmission state of the data packets in which thetime until the transmission deadline is considered. In other words, thebase station 20 is capable of determining whether to admit a flowregarding a new radio terminal depending on the service quality, whichmeans that the transmission deadline of the existing flow is satisfied,and it is possible to maintain or improve the service quality of thebase station 20.

Second Embodiment

Next, a configuration example of a communication system according to asecond embodiment of the present invention is described with referenceto FIG. 2. The communication system in FIG. 2 is a communication systemdefined in the 3GPP. The communication system in FIG. 2 includes an eNB60, an application server 70, a core network 100, and a plurality of UEs80. The UE 80 is a general term of communication terminals used in the3GPP. The core network 100 is a network managed by a mobile networkoperator. The core network 100 includes an MEC server 40 and a gateway50.

The gateway 50 may be, for example, a Serving Gateway (SGW) or a PacketData Network Gateway (PGW) that transmits user data regarding a UE 80 inthe core network 100. Alternatively, the gateway 50 may be a U-PlaneFunction (UPF) entity that is a node device for transmitting user dataregarding a UE 80. The user data may be, for example, image data, movingimage data, or the like.

The MEC server 40 transmits, for example, control data in the corenetwork 100. The control data is used to, for example, set acommunication path for transmitting user data regarding a UE 80. The MECserver 40 may be referred to as, for example, a C-Plane Function (CPF)entity that is a node device for transmitting control data.

The application server 70 provides the UEs 80 with an applicationservice. The application server 70 transmits, for example, user data tothe gateway 50. The application server 70 further transmits, to the MECserver 40, information about the data size (flow size) of the user datato be transmitted in one flow, a transmission deadline in one flow, andthe like.

The gateway 50 transmits, to the eNB 60, the user data transmitted fromthe application server 70. The gateway 50 further transmits, to theapplication server 70, the user data transmitted from the eNB 60.

The MEC server 40 determines whether to admit a flow regarding a newradio terminal at the eNB 60 using the information transmitted from theapplication server 70 and the transmission state of the data packetstransmitted from the eNB 60. The MEC server 40 transmits thedetermination result regarding the admission of the flow to the eNB 60.

The eNB 60 performs processing for admitting or rejecting the flowrequested by the UE 80 using the determination result regarding theadmission of the flow transmitted from the MEC server 40.

Next, a configuration example of the MEC server 40 according to thesecond embodiment is described with reference to FIG. 3. The MEC server40 includes a scheduling control unit 41, an admission determinationunit 42, and an eNB communication unit 43. The scheduling control unit41, the admission determination unit 42, and the eNB communication unit43 may each be software or a module the processing of which is performedby a processor executing programs stored in a memory. Alternatively, thescheduling control unit 41, the admission determination unit 42, and theeNB communication unit 43 may each be hardware such as a chip or acircuit.

The scheduling control unit 41 emulates MAC scheduling to be performedin the eNB 60 to determine whether each flow to be processed by the eNB60 is completed by the transmission deadline. The completion of eachflow by the transmission deadline means that all the data packetsincluded in each flow are transmitted by the transmission deadline. Thescheduling control unit 41 emulates the MAC scheduling using, forexample, the communication quality of the radio resource measured by theUE 80 or the eNB 60. The processing of the scheduling control unit 41for emulating the MAC scheduling is to be described in detail later. Thescheduling control unit 41 outputs, to the admission determination unit42, the determination result indicating that each flow to be processedby the eNB 60 is completed by the transmission deadline.

The scheduling control unit 41 further estimates the communicationquality of the future radio resource using the communication quality ofthe radio resource measured by the UE 80 or the eNB 60. Thecommunication quality may be, for example, a Channel Quality Indicator(CQI) or information indicating other qualities.

The scheduling control unit 41 estimates the communication quality ofthe future radio resource using, for example, the tendency of thecommunication quality of the radio resource acquired in the past orstatistical information. For example, the scheduling control unit 41 mayestimate that the communication quality of the future radio resourceincreases when the tendency of the communication quality of the radioresource acquired in the past increases. On the other hand, thescheduling control unit 41 may estimate that the communication qualityof the future radio resource decreases when the tendency of thecommunication quality of the radio resource acquired in the pastdecreases.

The admission determination unit 42 determines, using the determinationresult output from the scheduling control unit 41, whether to admit theflow regarding the new UE 80 at the eNB 60. For example, when there isone flow that is not completed by the transmission deadline among aplurality of flows to be processed by the eNB 60, the admissiondetermination unit 42 may reject the admission of the flow regarding thenew UE 80. In other words, when all the flows to be processed by the eNB60 are completed by the transmission deadline, the admissiondetermination unit 42 may allow the admission of the flow regarding theUE 80. Alternatively, when the number of flows that are not completed bythe transmission deadline among a plurality of flows to be processed bythe eNB 60 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the admissiondetermination unit 42 may reject the admission of the flow regarding thenew UE 80. In addition, the admission determination unit 42 maypredetermine the number or the rate of the UEs 80 the flows regardingwhich are rejected to determine whether to admit the flow regarding thenew UE 80.

The eNB communication unit 43 transmits, to the eNB 60, instructioninformation indicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new UE80.

Next, a configuration example of the eNB 60 according to the secondembodiment is described with reference to FIG. 4. The eNB 60 includes acore-network node communication unit 61, a radio-environment acquisitionunit 62, an admission control unit 63, and a radio unit 64. Thecore-network node communication unit 61, the radio-environmentacquisition unit 62, the admission control unit 63, and the radio unit64 may each be software or a module the processing of which is performedby a processor executing programs stored in a memory. Alternatively, thecore-network node communication unit 61, the radio-environmentacquisition unit 62, the admission control unit 63, and the radio unit64 may each be hardware such as a chip or a circuit.

The radio-environment acquisition unit 62 measures, using the UL datareceived from the UE 80 via the radio unit 64, the communication qualityof the radio resource for transmitting the UL data. Theradio-environment acquisition unit 62 further receives, from the UE 80,the communication quality of the radio resource for transmitting the DLdata measured by the UE 80 using the DL data. The radio-environmentacquisition unit 62 receives information about the communication qualityof the radio resource for transmitting the DL data from the UE 80 viathe radio unit 64.

The radio-environment acquisition unit 62 transmits, to the MEC server40 via the core-network node communication unit 61, the communicationquality of the radio resource for transmitting the UL and DL data.

The admission control unit 63 receives the instruction informationindicating whether to admit the flow regarding the new UE 80 transmittedfrom the MEC server 40 via the core-network node communication unit 61.The admission control unit 63 performs, using the received instructioninformation, processing for admitting or rejecting the flow regardingthe new UE 80. The processing for rejecting the flow regarding the UE 80may include, for example, admission processing in which the admission ofthe flow regarding the UE 80 is temporarily rejected and the flowregarding the UE 80 is admitted after a predetermined time passes.Alternatively, the processing for rejecting the flow regarding the UE 80may include no allocation of the radio resource to the UE 80 for apredetermined time after the flow regarding the UE 80 is admitted. Here,the UE 80 the flow regarding which is rejected may discard the datapackets included in the rejected flow. The UE 80 may discard the datapackets included in the rejected flow using a discard timer.

The radio unit 64 performs radio communication with the UE 80 using theradio resource allocated to the UE 80 as a result of the MAC scheduling.In order to perform the MAC scheduling, a system or scheduler type, suchas Proportional Fairness (PF), Round Robin (RR), or Maximum Throughput(MT), may be used.

Next, a configuration example of the UE 80 according to the secondembodiment is described with reference to FIG. 5. The UE 80 includes aradio unit 81 and a radio-environment measurement unit 82. The radiounit 81 and the radio-environment measurement unit 82 may each besoftware or a module the processing of which is performed by a processorexecuting programs stored in a memory. Alternatively, the radio unit 81and the radio-environment measurement unit 82 may each be hardware suchas a chip or a circuit.

The radio-environment measurement unit 82 measures the communicationquality of the radio resource for transmitting the DL data using the DLdata transmitted from the eNB 60. The radio-environment measurement unit82 transmits, to the eNB 60, the communication quality of the radioresource for transmitting the DL data via the radio unit 81.

Next, processing of the MEC server 40 for acquiring the communicationquality of the radio resource from the eNB 60 is described withreference to FIG. 6. First, the MEC server 40 transmits a requestmessage to the eNB 60 in order to acquire the communication quality ofthe radio resource (S11). Specifically, the MEC server 40 transmits aWcqNotificationSetup message to the eNB 60. A Wireless Channel Quality(WCQ) indicates the communication quality of the radio resource. The WCQmay be, for example, information such as a CQI, a signal level, or anoise level. The information about a signal level and a noise level maybe, for example, information indicating the signal strength, the noisestrength, and the like. In addition, the WCQ may be a Signal toInterference plus Noise power Ratio (SINR) expressed by a signal leveland a noise level. Parameters shown in FIG. 7 are set in theWcqNotificationSetup message.

For example, the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as the transmissiondestination and the MEC server ID indicating the MEC server 40 as thetransmission source are set in the WcqNotificationSetup message.Furthermore, Direction indicating whether the WCQ which the MEC server40 desires to acquire is the WCQ regarding the radio resource for UL,the WCQ regarding the radio resource for DL, or the WCQ regarding theradio resource for UL and DL is set. In addition, NotificationIntervalindicating a transmission interval may be set in theWcqNotificationSetup message.

Returning to FIG. 6, the eNB 60, then, transmits a WcqNotificationmessage to the MEC server 40 as a response message to theWcqNotificationSetup message (S12). Parameters shown in FIG. 8 are setin the WcqNotification message.

For example, the MEC server ID indicating the MEC server 40 as thetransmission destination and the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as thetransmission source are set in the WcqNotification message. Furthermore,Direction indicating whether the WCQ set in the WcqNotification messageis the WCQ regarding the radio resource for UL, the WCQ regarding theradio resource for DL, or the WCQ regarding the radio resource for ULand DL is set.

In addition, a WcqValue indicating the value of the WCQ of each UEregarding its resource block is set in the WcqNotification message.Here, as an specific example of the radio resource, resource blocks areused. The resource block is identified using time information andfrequency information. The WcqValue of each resource block istransmitted from the eNB 60 to the MEC server 40. The WcqValue may be,for example, expressed by an integer, such as level 1 or level 2. Inthis case, as the value becomes greater, the quality of thecorresponding resource block is better. In addition, level X or more (Xis an integer) may be set as a High level, level Y or more (Y is aninteger smaller than X) and less than level X may be set as a Middlelevel, and level Y or less may be set as a Low level.

Here, the WcqValue set in the WcqNotification message is described withreference to FIG. 9. The resource blocks are identified using RBindex.FIG. 9 shows that the WcqValue of each UE is set in each of the resourceblocks of RBindex 1 to 100. The WcqValue is set in a blank in FIG. 9.The UEs are identified using UEIDs. FIG. 9 shows that the UEs areidentified by 000001 to FFFFFF. The UEIDs may be, for example, MACUEIDs.

Next, processing of the MEC server 40 for acquiring a scheduler typefrom the eNB 60 is described with reference to FIG. 10. First, the MECserver 40 transmits a request message to the eNB 60 in order to acquirea scheduler type (S21). Specifically, the MEC server 40 transmits aSchedulingPolicyRequest message to the eNB 60. Parameters shown in FIG.11 are set in the SchedulingPolicyRequest message.

For example, the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as the transmissiondestination and the MEC server ID indicating an SCEF 40 as thetransmission source are set in the SchedulingPolicyRequest message. Inaddition, NotificationInterval indicating a transmission interval may beset in the SchedulingPolicyRequest message.

Returning to FIG. 10, the eNB 60, then, transmits aSchedulingPolicyResponse message to the MEC server 40 as a responsemessage to the SchedulingPolicyRequest message (S22). Parameters shownin FIG. 12 are set in the SchedulingPolicyResponse message.

For example, the MEC server ID indicating the MEC server 40 as thetransmission destination and the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as thetransmission source are set in the SchedulingPolicyResponse message. Inaddition, the scheduler type used in the eNB 60 is set. As the schedulertype, for example, PF, RR, or MT may be set.

Next, processing of the MEC server 40 for acquiring a buffer size fromthe eNB 60 is described with reference to FIG. 13. The buffer sizeincludes at least either one of, for example, the buffer size used bythe eNB 60 to transmit the DL data to the UE 80 or the buffer size usedby the UE 80 to transmit the UL data to the eNB 60. The buffer size maybe referred to as the size of untransmitted data in the eNB 60 or the UE80.

First, the MEC server 40 transmits a request message to the eNB 60 inorder to acquire the buffer size (S31). Specifically, the MEC server 40transmits a RemainBufferSizeSetup message to the eNB 60. Parametersshown in FIG. 14 are set in the RemainBufferSizeSetup message.

For example, the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as the transmissiondestination and the MEC server ID indicating the MEC server 40 as thetransmission source are set in the RemainBufferSizeSetup message. Inaddition,

NotificationInterval indicating a transmission interval may be set inthe RemainBufferSizeSetup message.

Returning to FIG. 13, the eNB 60, then, transmits aRemainBufferSizeNotification message to the MEC server 40 as a responsemessage to the RemainBufferSizeSetup message (S32). Parameters shown inFIG. 15 are set in the RemainBufferSizeNotification message.

For example, the MEC server ID indicating the MEC server 40 as thetransmission destination and the eNB ID indicating the eNB 60 as thetransmission source are set in the RemainBufferSizeNotification message.The buffer size of each UE 80 is further set as Remain BufferSize. TheeNB 60 acquires information about the buffer size from a memory providedwith a buffer or the like to set the buffer size regarding the DL data.On the other hand, the eNB 60 acquires information about the buffer sizefrom the UE 80 to set the buffer size regarding the UL data. Forexample, when receiving the RemainBufferSizeSetup message, the eNB 60may start acquiring, from the UE 80, the information about the buffersize regarding the UL data. Note that, in the case of using an SCEF asthe communication device 10, the above MEC server ID may be an SCEF ID.

Here, RemainBufferSize set in the RemainBufferSizeNotification messageis described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 shows the buffer size ofeach UE. For example, the UE the UEID of which is 000001 has 5 bytes asthe buffer regarding the UL data (ulBufferSize), and the eNB 60 has 30bytes as the buffer regarding the DL data (dlBufferSize) to bedownloaded by the UE the UEID of which is 000001.

Returning to FIG. 15, in the RemainBufferSizeNotification message,Direction indicating whether the buffer size set in theRemainBufferSizeNotification message is the buffer size regarding the ULdata, the buffer size regarding the DL data, or the buffer sizeregarding the UL and DL data.

Next, processing for determining whether to allow an additional flowaccording to the second embodiment is described with reference to FIG.17. The processing for determining whether to allow an additional flowmay be performed when, for example, a radio-resource allocation requestmessage or the like is transmitted to the eNB 60 in order to transmitthe data included in the flow regarding the new UE 80. That is, whenbeing notified by the eNB 60 that the radio-resource allocation requestmessage for the flow regarding the new UE 80 has been transmitted to theeNB 60, the MEC server 40 may determine whether to admit the flowregarding the new UE 80. Alternatively, when at least one piece of dataincluded in the flow regarding the UE 80 is transmitted from the eNB 60,the MEC server 40 may determine whether to admit the flow regarding theUE 80 including the received at least one piece of data. In this case,the MEC server 40 may determine whether to admit a flow to be desired bya UE in the future.

Alternatively, the processing for determining whether to allow anadditional flow may be performed when the eNB 60 completes thetransmission of all the data included in the flow regarding a UE. Thatis, when being notified by the eNB 60 that the transmission of all thedata included in the flow regarding the UE 80 has been completed, theMEC server 40 may determine whether to admit a flow to be desired by aUE in the future. For example, when the buffer size regarding the UE 80transmitted from the eNB 60 is zero, the SCEF 40 may determine that thetransmission of all the data included in the flow regarding the UE 80has been completed. Alternatively, when receiving all the data includedin the flow regarding the UE 80 from the eNB 60, the MEC server 40 maydetermine whether to admit a flow to be desired by a UE in the future.Note that, the UE 80 may transmit the data included in the flowregarding the UE 80 directly to the MEC server 40.

First, the scheduling control unit 41 calculates the data rate of theflow processed or transmitted by the eNB 60 (S41). It is assumed thatthe scheduling control unit 41 manages all the flows processed by theeNB 60 and has a management list in which, for example, each flow isassigned with an ID. For example, the scheduling control unit 41calculates the data rate of the UL data in accordance with Expression 1.

UL data rate(T2−T1)={ulBuf(T1)+(flowSize−ulBuf(T2))}/(T2−T1)  Expression1

UL data rate (T2−T1): the transmission data rate of the UL data in aperiod from time T1 to time T2 (for example, T2 is the present time, andT1 precedes T2)

ulBuf (T1): the buffer size of the UL data at time T1 (Byte)

ulBuf (T2): the buffer size of the UL data at time T2 (Byte)

flowSize: the data size to be transmitted by the transmission deadline(Byte)

The data rate of the UL data is calculated with Expression 1. The datarate of the DL data can be calculated similarly.

Next, the scheduling control unit 41 estimates a future CQI value basedon the acquired CQI value and estimates the data rate based on theestimated CQI value (S42). Here, the CQI is used as the WCQ. The futureCQI value may be a CQI value at a time obtained by setting, for example,the present time to t and adding a predetermined time to the presenttime, such as t+1 millisecond. The predetermined time to be added to thepresent time is not limited to 1 millisecond. The predetermined time tobe added to the present time may be, for example, 1 TTI which is ascheduling period in the eNB 60.

For example, the scheduling control unit 41 estimates a future CQI valuebased on the tendency of the CQI values acquired in the past. Forexample, the scheduling control unit 41 may estimate that the CQI valueof the future radio resource increases when the CQI values of the radioresource acquired in the past tends to increase. On the other hand, thescheduling control unit 41 may estimate that the CQI value of the futureradio resource decreases when the CQI values of the radio resourceacquired in the past tends to decrease.

When estimating that, for example, the CQI value at t+1 millisecondimproves, the scheduling control unit 41 may estimate that the data rateat t+1 millisecond is greater than the data rate calculated in step S41.The degree of the increase in the data rate based on the increase in theCQI value may be predetermined. In addition, the degree of the decreasein the data rate based on the decrease in the CQI value may bepredetermined.

Next, the scheduling control unit 41 calculates a Remain Flow Size (RFS)of each flow processed by the eNB 60 (S43). The RFS is the amount ofdata that remains in the buffer after a predetermined time passes whenthe data stored in the buffer at time T2 is transmitted at the data rateestimated in step S42. That is, the RFS is the amount of untransmitteddata after a predetermined time passes when the data stored in thebuffer at time T2 is transmitted at the data rate estimated in step S42.The predetermined time may be, for example, 1 millisecond when the CQIat t+1 millisecond is estimated. In addition, the time after thepredetermined time is a timing before the transmission deadline isexpired. The RFS may be calculated in accordance with, for example,Expression 2.

RFS=ulBuf(T2)−α×UL data rate(T2−T1)×predetermined time   Expression 2

α: a constant defined by an estimated CQI value.

α×UL data rate (T2−T1): the data rate after the predetermined time(estimated value)

The scheduling control unit 41 calculates, in step S43, the respectiveRFSs regarding all flows to be processed by the eNB 60.

Next, the scheduling control unit 41 deletes a flow in which RFS=0 froma list of managing flows (S44). RFS=0 indicates that all the dataincluded in a flow can be transmitted by the transmission deadline.Next, the scheduling control unit 41 determines whether all the flowsare deleted from the list of managing flows (S45). The delete of all theflows from the list of managing flows means that all the data includedin the flows being processed by the eNB 60 is transmitted by thetransmission deadline. That is, all the flows are completed by thetransmission deadline. Thus, when all the flows are deleted from thelist of flows managed by the scheduling control unit 41, the admissiondetermination unit 42 completes processing without admission control.That is, the admission determination unit 42 admits a flow in whichallocation of the current radio resource is desired or a flow in whichallocation of the next or subsequent radio resource is desired.

When determining that all the flows are not deleted from the list ofmanaging flows, the scheduling control unit 41 determines whether thereis a flow in which transmission of the RFS data cannot be completed bythe transmission deadline (S46). For example, the scheduling controlunit 41 calculates a Flow Complete Time (FCT), which means the timerequired to complete transmission of the RFS data, in accordance withExpression 3.

FCT=uLBuf(T2)/UL data rate(T2−T1)  Expression 3

Expression 3 expresses the FCT when the data stored in the buffer istransmitted at the data rate at time T2. When the data rate after thepredetermined time defined by the estimated CQI is used, “α×UL data rate(T2−T1)” may be used instead of “UL data rate (T2−T1)”.

The scheduling control unit 41 further compares the FCT of each flowwith the time from the present time to the transmission deadline anddetermines, when there is a flow in which the FCT is longer than thecompared time, that there is a flow in which transmission of the RFSdata cannot be completed by the transmission deadline (S46). On theother hand, the scheduling control unit 41 determines, when there is noflow in which the FCT is longer than the compared time, that there is noflow in which transmission of the RFS data cannot be completed by thetransmission deadline (S46). When determining that there is no flow inwhich transmission of the RFS data cannot be completed by thetransmission deadline, the scheduling control unit 41 repeats theprocessing in step S42 and subsequent steps. In the processing in stepS42 and subsequent steps, the data rate of each flow is calculated basedon the CQI value at, for example, t+2 millisecond.

When the scheduling control unit 41 determines that there is a flow inwhich transmission of the RFS data cannot be completed by thetransmission deadline, the admission determination unit 42 rejects anadditional flow regarding a new UE 80 (S47).

The scheduling control unit 41 may perform the processing shown in FIG.17 every Transmission Time Interval (TTI), which is the minimumallocation unit of the radio resource at the eNB 60, or every severalTTIs. One TTI may be, for example, one millisecond.

As described above, by performing the processing for determining whetheran additional flow is allowed according to the second embodiment, it ispossible to reject an additional flow when the processing load on theeNB 60 is too high to transmit all the data by the transmissiondeadline. Thus, it is possible to suppress increase in processing loadon the eNB 60.

In addition, the MEC server 40 according to the second embodiment canacquire, from the application server 70, information about the flowsize, which is the data size to be transmitted in one flow, and aboutthe transmission deadline. Thus, it is possible for the MEC server 40 tocalculate the data rate of each flow and to determine whether all thedata in each flow is transmitted by the transmission deadline.

On the other hand, if the eNB 60 determines whether all the data in eachflow is transmitted by the transmission deadline, it is required toacquire information about the flow size of each flow from the UE 80. Inthis case, processing for setting the flow size in data to betransmitted from the UE 80 is required. This increases the processingload on the UE 80 and further requires the UE 80 to have an additionalfunction.

In the following, configuration examples of the eNB 60, the MEC server40, and the UE 80 described in the above embodiments are described. FIG.18 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the eNB 60.Referring to FIG. 18, the eNB 60 includes an RF transceiver 1001, anetwork interface 1003, a processor 1004, and a memory 1005. The RFtransceiver 1001 performs analogue RF signal processing to communicatewith UEs. The RF transceiver 1001 may include a plurality oftransceivers. The RF transceiver 1001 is coupled to an antenna 1002 andthe processor 1004. The RF transceiver 1001 receives modulated symboldata (or OFDM symbol data) from the processor 1004, generates atransmission RF signal, and supplies the transmission RF signal to theantenna 1002. The RF transceiver 1001 further generates a basebandreception signal based on a reception RF signal received by the antenna1002 and supplies it to the processor 1004.

The network interface 1003 is used to communicate with network nodes(e.g., other core network nodes). The network interface 1003 mayinclude, for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to theIEEE 802.3 series.

The processor 1004 performs data-plane processing (including digitalbaseband signal processing) and control-plane processing for radiocommunication. In the case of LTE or LTE-Advanced, for example, thedigital baseband signal processing performed by the processor 1004 mayinclude signal processing of a MAC layer and a PHY layer.

The processor 1004 may include a plurality of processors. The processor1004 may include, for example, a modem processor (e.g., a DSP) thatperforms the digital baseband signal processing and a protocol-stackprocessor (e.g., a CPU or an MPU) that performs the control-planeprocessing.

The memory 1005 is constituted by a combination of a volatile memory anda nonvolatile memory. The memory 1005 may include a plurality of memorydevices that are physically independent from each other. The volatilememory is, for example, a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a DynamicRAM (DRAM), or a combination thereof. The nonvolatile memory is, forexample, a mask Read Only Memory (MROM), an Electrically ErasableProgrammable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or anycombination thereof. The memory 1005 may include a storage arrangedapart from the processor 1004. In this case, the processor 1004 mayaccess the memory 1005 via the network interface 1003 or an I/Ointerface (not shown).

The memory 1005 may store software modules (computer programs) includinginstructions and data to perform the processing of the eNB 60 describedin the above embodiments. In some implementations, the processor 1004may be configured to load these software modules from the memory 1005and execute them in order to perform the processing of the eNB 60described in the above embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the UE 80.A Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver 1101 performs analogue RF signalprocessing to communicate with the eNB 60. The analog RF signalprocessing performed by the RF transceiver 1101 includes frequencyup-conversion, frequency down-conversion, and amplification. The RFtransceiver 1101 is coupled to an antenna 1102 and a baseband processor1103. Specifically, the RF transceiver 1101 receives modulated symboldata (or OFDM symbol data) from the baseband processor 1103, generates atransmission RF signal, and supplies the transmission RF signal to theantenna 1102. The RF transceiver 1101 further generates a basebandreception signal based on a reception RF signal received by the antenna1102 and supplies it to the baseband processor 1103.

The baseband processor 1103 performs digital baseband signal processing(data-plane processing) and control-plane processing for radiocommunication. The digital baseband signal processing includes (a) datacompression/decompression, (b) data segmentation/concatenation, (c)composition/decomposition of a transmission format (transmission frame),(d) channel coding/decoding, (e) modulation (symbolmapping)/demodulation, and (f) generation of OFDM symbol data (basebandOFDM signal) by Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT). Meanwhile, thecontrol-plane processing includes communication management of layer 1(e.g., transmission power control), layer 2 (e.g., radio resourcemanagement and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processing), andlayer 3 (e.g., signaling regarding attach, mobility, and callmanagement).

For example, in the case of LTE or LTE-Advanced, the digital basebandsignal processing performed by the baseband processor 1103 may includesignal processing of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, aRadio Link Control (RLC) layer, a MAC layer, and a PHY layer. Inaddition, the control-plane processing performed by the basebandprocessor 1103 may include processing of a Non-Access Stratum (NAS)protocol, an RRC protocol, and a MAC CE.

The baseband processor 1103 may include a modem processor (e.g., aDigital Signal Processor (DSP)) that performs the digital basebandsignal processing and a protocol stack processor (e.g., a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) or a Micro Processing Unit (MPU)) that performsthe control-plane processing. In this case, the protocol stackprocessor, which performs the control-plane processing, may beintegrated with an application processor 1104 described below.

The application processor 1104 may also be referred to as a CPU, an MPU,a microprocessor, or a processor core. The application processor 1104may include a plurality of processors (processor cores). The applicationprocessor 1104 executes a system software program (Operating System(OS)) and various application programs (e.g., a voice call application,a WEB browser, a mailer, a camera operation application, and a musicplayback application) loaded from a memory 1106 or from another memory(not shown) to perform various functions of the UE 80.

In some implementations, as shown by a dashed line (1105) in FIG. 19,the baseband processor 1103 and the application processor 1104 may beintegrated on a single chip. In other words, the baseband processor 1103and the application processor 1104 may be implemented as a single Systemon Chip (SoC) device 1105. An SoC device may be referred to as a systemLarge Scale Integration (LSI) or a chipset.

The memory 1106 is a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, or acombination thereof. The memory 1106 may include a plurality of memorydevices that are physically independent from each other. The volatilememory is, for example, a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a DynamicRAM (DRAM), or a combination thereof. The non-volatile memory is, forexample, a mask Read Only Memory (MROM), an Electrically ErasableProgrammable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or anycombination thereof. The memory 1106 may include, for example, anexternal memory device that can be accessed by the baseband processor1103, the application processor 1104, and the SoC 1105. The memory 1106may include an internal memory device that is integrated in the basebandprocessor 1103, the application processor 1104, or the SoC 1105. Inaddition, the memory 1106 may include a memory in a Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC).

The memory 1106 may store software modules (computer programs) includinginstructions and data to perform the processing of the UE 80 describedin the above embodiments. In some implementations, the basebandprocessor 1103 or the application processor 1104 may be configured toload these software modules from the memory 1106 and execute them inorder to perform the processing of the UE 80 described in the aboveembodiments.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the MECserver 40. Referring to FIG. 20, the MEC server 40 includes a networkinterface 1201, a processor 1202, and a memory 1203. The networkinterface 1201 is used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., a remotenode 10 and a core network 40). The network interface 1201 may include,for example, a network interface card (NIC) conforming to the IEEE 802.3series.

The processor 1202 loads software (computer programs) from the memory1203 and executes them to perform the processing of the center node 20described in the above embodiments with reference to the sequencediagrams and the flowchart. The processor 1202 may be, for example, amicroprocessor, an MPU, or a CPU. The processor 1202 may include aplurality of processors.

The processor 1202 performs data-plane processing (including digitalbaseband signal processing) and control-plane processing for radiocommunication. In the case of LTE or LTE-Advanced, for example, thedigital baseband signal processing performed by the processor 1004 mayinclude signal processing of PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers. In addition, theprocessing performed by the processor 1202 may include signal processingof a GTP-U UDP/IP layer on X2-U and S1-U interfaces. The control-planeprocessing performed by the baseband processor 1004 may further includeprocessing of an X2AP protocol, an S1-MME protocol, and an RRC protocol.

The processor 1202 may include a plurality of processors. The processor1004 may include, for example, a modem processor (e.g., a DSP) thatperforms the digital baseband signal processing, a processor (e.g., aDSP) that performs the signal processing of the GTP-U UDP/IP layer onX2-U and S1-U interfaces, and a protocol-stack processor (e.g., a CPU oran MPU) that performs the control-plane processing.

The memory 1203 is constituted by a combination of a volatile memory anda non-volatile memory. The memory 1203 may include a storage arrangedapart from the processor 1202. In this case, the processor 1202 mayaccess the memory 1203 via an I/O interface (not shown).

In the example of FIG. 20, the memory 1203 is used to store softwaremodules. The processor 1202 loads these software modules from the memory1203 and executes them in order to perform the processing of the MECserver 40 described in the above embodiments.

As described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 20, each of the processorsincluded in the eNB 60, the MEC server 40, and the UE 80 according tothe above embodiments executes one or more programs includinginstructions for causing a computer to perform the algorithm describedwith reference to the drawings.

In the above examples, the programs can be stored in variousnon-transitory computer-readable medium and supplied to computers. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium includes various tangiblestorage medium. Examples of the non-transitory computer-readable mediuminclude magnetic recording media (for example, a flexible disk, amagnetic tape, and a hard disk drive), magneto-optic storage media (forexample, a magneto-optic disk), a CD Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), a CD-R,a CD-R/W, and semiconductor memories (for example, a mask ROM, aProgrammable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), a flash ROM, and aRandom Access Memory (RAM)). The programs may be supplied to a computerby using various transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of thetransitory computer-readable medium include electrical signals, opticalsignals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readablemedium can be used to supply programs to a computer via a wiredcommunication line, such as an electric wire and an optical fibers, or awireless communication line.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments andmodifications can be made as appropriate without departing from thescope thereof. The present invention may be implemented by combining theembodiments as appropriate.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10 Communication device-   11 Determination unit-   12 Communication unit-   20 Base station-   30 Radio terminal-   40 MEC server-   41 Scheduling control unit-   42 Admission determination unit-   43 eNB communication unit-   50 Gateway-   60 eNB-   61 Core-network node communication unit-   62 Radio-environment acquisition unit-   63 Admission control unit-   64 Radio unit-   70 Application server-   80 UE-   81 Radio unit-   82 Radio-environment measurement unit-   100 Core network

1. A method for a communication device comprising: determining whetherto admit a flow regarding a new radio terminal, the flow being to betransmitted between a radio terminal and a base station and having atransmission deadline, depending on a transmission state of a pluralityof data packets included in the flow; determining whether to admit theflow regarding the new radio terminal using information indicatingwhether all the plurality of data packets is transmitted by thetransmission deadline; determining, using a data rate when the pluralityof data packets is transmitted and a size of untransmitted data packets,whether all the untransmitted data packets is transmitted by thetransmission deadline; and transmitting, to the base station,instruction information indicating whether to admit the flow regardingthe new radio terminal.
 2. The method according to claim 1 furthercomprising: executing the instructions to calculate a data rate of aflow using a buffer size used by the radio terminal or the base stationto transmit a plurality of data packets included in the flow and a datasize of the plurality of data packets included in the flow.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1 further comprising: executing theinstructions to estimate a quality of a radio resource for transmittingthe plurality of data packets and to determine the data rate using theestimated quality of the radio resource.
 4. The method according toclaim 1 further comprising: executing the instructions to stop admittingthe flow regarding the new radio terminal when the number of radioterminals, all data packets of which are not transmitted by thetransmission deadline, exceeds a predetermined number.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1 further comprising: executing the instructions toemulate data-packet scheduling control performed by the base station andto determine whether all the plurality of data packets is transmitted bythe transmission deadline.